(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Maxis Communications, Malaysia 's biggest mobile phone company by subscriber numbers, is bidding for Sri Lanka 's fifth mobile operator license, a news report said.
Other bidders are believed to be SingTel and India 's Reliance Infocomm, said The Edge business weekly.
Their interest in Sri Lanka 's market is indicative of operators' 'desperation' to venture abroad, the paper said.
'There are only a few assets in markets with low mobile penetration which are for sale and this explains why even a fifth license in a country like Sri Lanka will be pursued,' the report quoted an unidentified analyst as saying.
Sri Lanka had 3.3 million mobile phone users at the end of last year, with a penetration rate of 17.3%.
There is also a lack of landline service in the country, which makes mobile services more attractive, the report said.
For Maxis, interest in Sri Lanka could also be due to the successful experience of its Malaysian rival, state-owned Telekom Malaysia , which owns 87.7% of Dialog Telekom.
Dialog was Sri Lanka 's fourth mobile phone operator when Telekom Malaysia bought into it in 1995, and is the top mobile provider with nearly 60% market share.
Maxis officials could not be reached for comment.
If Maxis, which has more than eight million subscribers in Malaysia , succeeds in securing Sri Lanka 's fifth license, it could derive some synergies from its neighboring Indian operations under Aircel.
Bids for the license costing $4 million close on June 30, The Edge reported.
c 2006 The Associated Press
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